Boomless PUMA takes second place in Qingdao

This is one of the first pictures taken of PUMA coming in to Qingdao today after recapturing second place, behind Telefonica Blue in the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, while sailing without a boom. The sail profile looks fine for reaching conditions, rigged to a pulley system to allow adjustments. It shows what can be done, even when a boom snaps.

Picture courtesy of the PUMA racing team.

Head case

Puma and Ericsson 4 are still neck and neck for the second and third places in the Volvo fourth leg while Telefonica Blue's leading margin has been all but maintained, now 29 miles with just over 150 miles to go to Qingdao.

The last few miles have been an obstacle course for the boats as fishing nets are stretched sporadically for miles and sometimes cannot be avoided.

Flogging mainsails create a hazard in light winds, so crews deal with the problem by fastening the boom with a "preventer" rope. This clip of Anders Dahlsjo on Ericsson 3 shows what the preventer is trying to prevent and what it can no longer prevent if it snaps, as this did. Not for the squeamish.

Fighting to the finish in Volvo Qingdao leg

With just over 200 miles - less than a day's fast sailing - left ahead of them as the surviving boats from the gruelling fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race close on Qingdao, the leaders have set up an exciting finish.

Every boat in the fleet has suffered damage in battering winds that have forced three retirements from the leg. Ericsson 4 is sailing without instruments while PUMA is sailing without a boom. Both boats are within a mile or two of each other and have been gaining on the race leader Telefonica Blue, still more than 30 miles ahead of them.

In fact as I have been writing this short note, PUMA has moved up in to second place! If Telefonica loses its wind before the finish as skipper Bouwe Bekking fears, anything could happen. As it stands Telefonica looks as if it will secure the win but if PUMA can hold on to its second place Ken Read and his crew can feel proud of their come back from such a serious breakage.

For full details, click on the Volvo link to the right where there are also links to the Vendee Globe race and Pete Goss's Cornish lugger voyage to Australia. There's plenty happening at sea just now.

PUMA boom breaks on camera

What happens when your boom breaks in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Like several other boats, PUMA was forced to take shelter, after breaking her boom while leading the leg in 50 mph winds west of Luzon. One boat, Telefonica Black, has retired from the leg with a cracked hull but PUMA is sailing on. Telefonica Blue, meanwhile, has taken the lead.

Full report here.

Puma leads by a whisker

Puma is leading by a whisker in what is expected to be a cold, harsh, fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race to Qingdao in China. I sailed with the Puma crew a few days ago in Singapore and their preparation looked superb. Team Origin member Rob Greenhalgh has fitted in well, trimming the main. Imagine a concentrated 2,500 mile sprint with no let up the whole way.

"It’s ridiculous," says Ken Read, Puma's skipper. "Every moment of the day at sea is spent trying to make the boat run fast. We get three hour position reports so the intensity is maintained the whole time. It’s like a day race that just happens to last weeks at a time."

Catching up with the Volvo Ocean Race

I'm flying to Singapore in a couple of days and wish I was looking forward to it. I hate long flights. I'm travelling there to catch up with Volvo Ocean Race and to sail with the crew of Puma.

In the last race I sailed on ABN AMRO during the in-port race out of Portsmouth. Spectators are allowed to stand at the stern of the boat. This time, as it's a training run, I'm hoping I will get more of a chance to look around the boat.

But I'm under no illusion that there will be a chance to pull on any ropes beyond a turn on the grinder, perhaps. It takes some time to get used to the workings of a powerful boat like this. While principles are the same as those on a cruising yacht it's like stepping out of your saloon car and in to a racing car. There's a steering wheel and pedals but don't expect anything else to be familiar.

I went on the grinder to hoist the mainsail on Bahrain Team Pindar and even with two of us it took forever. I think about that when I read about the Vendee skippers putting reefs in their mainsails. Still, it keeps them fit.

I'm disappointed to be missing the London Boat Show at ExCel although I always find these shows overwhelming. The best bit about them is the opportunity to meet people. Looking at the dates (9th to the 18th of January) I might get to the end of it. One good thing about the Singapore trip is that it will give me new leads and new ideas. I just wish it wasn't so far away.

All at sea, nearly

So much is happening in sailing just now it's difficult to know where to start. The Volvo Ocean race has started and Ericsson 4 has taken an early lead from Puma. Follow their progress here.

Meanwhile Pete Goss is counting down to the start of his voyage to Australia in his Cornish lugger, The Spirit of Mystery. His web site tells the whole story. I featured him a while back here.

The Vendee Globe boats are making their final preparations. Boats are beginning to gather at Les Sables d'Olonne for the race start on November 9. More about the race here.

While all this is happening, members of Team Origin, the America's Cup challenger, are in New York with the yacht, Virgin Money, waiting for favourable weather systems to sail with Sir Richard Branson in a new attempt to break the transatlantic mono-hull record, which stands at 6 days, 17 hrs, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. It's going to be a busy few weeks.